Life

Get to Know a Race Director: South Africa 70.3's Paul Wolff

IRONMAN 70.3 South Africa takes place this weekend in East London. Race director Paul Wolff talks about the sold out race and the country's triathlon scene.

By Zoie Clift

IRONMAN.com: You are an accomplished triathlete and competed in the World Championship 70.3 last year—what first got you interested in the sport?

I was a competitive runner at school and university. I got bored with just running and at the age of 32 did my first triathlon. I had to swim breast stroke most of the way, but ran myself back into contention. I was hooked after that and triathlon became my new sport of choice.

How long have you been competing for and what has been one of your proudest accomplishments as a triathlete?

Giving away my age now! I have been racing for 12 years. My proudest moment was finishing my first IRONMAN in Austria, and completing the World Championships in Kona, Clearwater and Vegas.

You are race director of both IRONMAN South Africa and IRONMAN 70.3 South Africa. Do you use some of the same tactics you use as an athlete in your race director role?

I look at the race from the athletes perspective as they are the heart and soul of the race. I try to ensure that everything runs as I would want it to from an athlete’s perspective.

Can you tell us about your path to becoming a race director?

I was a biokineticist, which is similar to a physical therapist, but requires a medical degree in South Africa. When I first became interested in triathlon, IROMAN had been out of South Africa for two years. My business partner, Keith Bowler and I came up with a plan to bring it back to South Africa. Keith was the marketer and I was the race director. In the end Triangle Events in Austria held the license, but we formed a company with them and the rest is history. We are heading into our 10th year of the full IRONMAN South Africa in 2014, while the first event held in 2004 was a half, as it was called then.

What are some of the hurdles you've faced hosting races in South Africa?

Triathlon is in its infancy in South Africa. Before we started IRONMAN, there were maybe only 400 registered triathletes in the country. We are an endurance mad nation though. We have a 90km run race in Durban, a 56km race in Cape Town. Both of these have over 10,000 people running in them. So there is a lot of growth potential. My worst experience was when they graded a path through the IRONMAN cycle course on the Monday of race week. I had spoken to the engineers for months leading up to the race and they guaranteed me they would be on time. They were trying to get the roads ready for the World Cup Soccer. So when they got behind schedule they just graded the road away. I had to change the route, get permission from the authorities, the residences and businesses now affected, in two days and then inform all the athletes arriving on the Thursday. The strikes were also a bad one as we were worried they would interrupt the race. But luckily the strike ended the Monday of race week. We had a contingency plan in place though to ensure the race went ahead.

Last year, the race faced some extreme weather (choppy waters, blistering winds, etc.) but you pulled off a full race. Was this one of the most difficult races you’ve faced as a director?

As mentioned earlier, South Africans are used to tough challenges, so it would never be that they would not want to race. I made an announcement before the race that the weather would be extreme later in the day and it was up to each athlete to decide if they wanted to compete. I would only cancel the race if I thought it would endanger their lives. I also knew I had a great team backing me who would ensure that everything would happen that needed to. Even my suppliers are part of the team. They ran around ensuring all tents were safe and added supports as needed so the race could continue. One thing about South Africans is they are passionate about their sport. The city of Port Elizabeth has taken ownership of the race. They book out the viewing areas all along the course. A good number even camp out on the Saturday night to ensure nobody takes their spot. These people stayed out there supporting the athletes in that crazy weather until midnight. This encouraged the athletes to carry on racing, as the spectators were there for them even in that crazy weather. I have raced all over the world and have never experienced this.

For those who aren’t familiar with IRONMAN 70.3 South Africa, can you tell us a bit about the route?

The swim is at the entrance to the harbor in a protected bay. The cycle follows the coast for a short distance and then joins a national highway which is closed for traffic. I don’t think there is another race in the world that has a highway closed to traffic for the entire distance. It is a challenging course with some steep climbs to the turn around, so this solves a lot of the drafting issues. The run is from transition along a pier, then back past the finish line with spectator grandstands, before heading out on a double lap course. It is great to run through the crowds past the finish line on each lap. There is a tough hill on the run, so this is by no means an easy 70.3, but the course and the crowds make it a great experience.

Tell us about the South African Triathlon Development program you are involved in.

We have 25 athletes that are part of the program. They are all athletes who are of ethnic origin and have no means of employment to be able to partake in IRONMAN. I head up the program that identifies these athletes, kits them out, gives them nutrition and ensures that they get adequate coaching to be able to finish the race. This is a non-profit organization, so all money raised go towards ensuring the athletes can take part. As we are all aware it is not cheap to partake in triathlon with the costs of equipment and nutrition and coaching. So to look after 25 athletes is quite a feat.